I have been a member for the International Women’s Club of Moscow (IWC) since April 2018, a month after we moved to Russia. I really love being part of the IWC because of all the activities IWC have to increase cultural awareness, to promote friendship, and to support of many charitable activities that help those who are in need.

In September 2018 I became a member of the Steering Committee (SC) of IWC. I am grateful and feel privileged to be part of the SC with the other ladies who are willing to volunteer their time and take on the responsibility of running the Club’s operations. These are not easy tasks but are approached everyone with energy, enthusiasm and sincerity directly from the heart. After two and half years of being part of the SC my time to step down from the Partnership Chair has come.

I have learned much from my experience of holding different positions within the SC and from being involved in many of the Club’s different projects. For example, the importance of the Club’s Constitution and governing documents and the value that is generated from big fund-raising projects such as the IWC Winter Bazaar.

I thank all the SC members for their friendship, I have enjoyed being part of this great team that keeps the Club running. I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to work with two different Club Presidents, firstly Mary Toganyan and more recently Karen Terracciano.  During both of their presidencies we faced great challenges from the difficult situation created by the Covid-19 pandemic that has impacted us all in one way or another.

I thank all the IWC partners for their good communication and cooperation during these last two years. What a great opportunity it was for me to work with all these partners and deal with professional people from different private businesses and institutions – many of the local and multinational companies that are based here in Moscow.

I am so grateful that the 2019 Winter Bazaar received great support not only from many embassies but also from so many private businesses. Our partners and sponsors included schools, relocation companies, residence company, clinics and hospitals, hotels, restaurants, beauty salons, travel agencies, family support organizations, clothing companies and many others. Their presence and participation resulted in very significant fund-raising donations that were used to support the many IWC Charity Projects.

Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 restrictions, we were unable to conduct our Winter Bazaar in 2020.  However, I am grateful that we were able hold a small project to raise funds by offering Advertisement Packages in our publications which allowed continued partner support to our charity program throughout the pandemic. I thank our partners who were able to support this project despite their own difficult circumstances. They have shown great understanding by continuing to help us support those in need. I am proud to have stood hand in hand with you through this situation.

Since face to face meetings have been impossible to hold since the beginning of 2019 the SC has been working hard to keep the Club running by conducting various online meetings. For example, on four occasions we held online meetings with our partners who presented interesting and relevant topics to our members who joined the meetings. I really appreciated those partners we cooperated with and who gave our members useful information and support during these difficult times.

Being able to interact with all the IWC members, the SC, and with many different Partners has taught me to understand better the differences between nationalities, between cultures, the different needs that our diplomatic and business partners can have.  This interaction has really enriched me both personally and professionally and will remain a great memory for me.

The SC is of course a volunteer position and my involvement has created a lot of positive feelings and strong emotions within me – it has been fun, enjoyable, extremely rewarding, and it has kept me very busy.  I feel very grateful that I had the chance to utilize my capabilities and to contribute my time in a positive and meaningful way. I hope that I have been able to contribute some good for the local community by helping to raise funds in support the Club’s charity program.

I hope so much that another member will take on the Partnership Chair and be able to contribute towards the future of the Club, both by maintaining good relationships with our current partners, and also by building new partnership relationships that can provide even more benefits to the members and even greater support to the Club’s charitable activities.

Thank you IWC for everything.  I wish you all and the Club all the very best for the future and every success in maintaining great purpose and goals of Club.

Yunita Purba